Practice Tips

Practice Tips

• 1. Practice every day:  It is better to practice in small amounts every day than it is to practice for a long time but only a couple days per week.
      
  2. Have specific goals: Don’t just play through the music; focus on certain parts of the music that you want to make better.  You don’t have to start at the beginning of a song every time (i.e. your goal for one practice session might just be to improve on a 4 measure phrase in the middle of a song).
      
  3. Start with a warm-up: A warm-up is something easy that allows you to make sure you are doing the basics well before moving to the hard stuff.
      
  4. Take your time: Playing through the music slowly with fewer mistakes is better than playing through the music quickly with lots of mistakes.
      
  5. Fix your mistakes: If you make a mistake, go back and work on that part until you can play it correctly 5 times in a row.  If you can’t improve, you need to slow it down and focus on a smaller chunk of the music.
      
  6. Practice even without your instrument: If you don’t have your instrument, you can still read through your music and imagine yourself playing the notes. 
      
  7. Sing, Sing, and Sing some more: Singing through your notes (not just speaking them, but real singing) is a GREAT way to learn your music.  In fact, don’t even try to play the music with your instrument until you can sing the part!
      
  8. Have Fun: That’s why you chose to play an instrument, right?  After all of your hard work learning the tough stuff, treat yourself to some fun and play a song that you love, or better yet, write your own song! 

  *Remember, the better you practice, the better you get, and the better you get, the more fun you will have.